“Meng’er, let me ask you, between repaying a favor and liking someone of the opposite sex, how should these two feelings be distinguished?”
He Qiu spoke, pausing for a moment before continuing thoughtfully.
“Back then, I accidentally saved you, and you wanted to give yourself to me in gratitude, and now you’ve become my maid.”
“So does that mean, because I did you a favor, you like me and are willing to marry me?”
“This…”
Zi Menghan listened, blinking her beautiful eyes in surprise.
Her expression was slightly stunned, and for a moment, she did not know how to answer.
Actually, when it came to matters of the heart, Zi Menghan was a complete novice.
She had never dated a man, so how would she know?
If it were about capturing a man’s desires and luring him into a trap, she knew quite a few tricks.
But that was merely based on a mentality of exploitation.
It hardly counted as emotional experience, and that approach did not work on He Qiu anyway.
However, since Young Master He rarely brought up matters of the heart, Zi Menghan was still willing to share her own views.
“Meng’er thinks that a single life-saving favor would indeed give rise to a flutter of fondness.”
“But in the end, that is merely an impulse of admiration toward the opposite sex.”
“Liking someone is not enough to make you easily give yourself to them out of gratitude.”
“Then why did you cry and beg me to marry you back then?”
He Qiu asked again.
“Ah, this…”
He Qiu’s question caught Zi Menghan completely off guard.
The girl’s smile stiffened, and for a long while, she was speechless.
She was unsure whether He Qiu was deliberately making things difficult for her.
Her feelings for him were not really rooted in the life-saving favor.
They were more of a psychological dependence.
She had originally suffered from a mental affliction and was prone to anxiety, irritability, and insecurity.
But after coming into contact with him, she discovered that he was actually very gentle.
Within the Longyin Sect, he also made her feel very safe.
Add to that the careful care He Qiu had shown her over the past few days, and she felt that her mental affliction had been healed by him.
That was why she had gradually developed feelings for him.
It was a psychological process in which an initial attraction based on his appearance gradually evolved into a fondness for He Qiu as a person.
So if she had to put it into words, Zi Menghan liked He Qiu because affection had grown over time.
It had almost nothing to do with whether he had saved her.
Besides, had he really saved her?
Subjectively, he had indeed meant well.
But objectively, he had nearly harmed her.
If Zi Menghan had not begged desperately that night, she truly did not know what would have happened.
But if one looked at it from another angle, many undercover agents were hidden around Zi Menghan.
If she had really escaped back to the Demon Sect, she could not be sure she would not have been assassinated.
The threads of fate were complex, and no one could truly predict them.
So regarding Zi Menghan’s feelings, investigating whether there had truly been a favor was completely meaningless.
It was inherently contradictory.
Liking was simply liking.
There were not that many reasons or unnecessary logical connections.
If she liked him, she only needed to know it in her own heart.
There was no need to explain why to anyone.
So now that He Qiu was asking Zi Menghan this question, she felt as if she had a terrible stomachache.
It was extremely difficult to explain everything clearly.
“At the time, Meng’er was afraid that Young Master would not want Meng’er, so in a moment of panic, she could only say that…”
She casually came up with an excuse.
“That is true. You were forced by circumstances too.”
He Qiu sighed, seemingly feeling an inexplicable ache in his heart.
When Luo Qianning was young, she had also begged him like that.
The situations could not be called exactly the same, but they were indeed quite similar.
And just then, Zi Menghan once again refuted him.
“Why should Young Master feel guilty?”
“Because I forced you—”
“That is not it!”
She suddenly stood up and interrupted him, her expression resolute.
Seeing the surprise on He Qiu’s face, Zi Menghan calmed herself and continued explaining.
“If not for Young Master, Meng’er would probably have been captured by those bad people by now.”
“If not for Young Master, where would Meng’er even have a place to stay now?”
“Meng’er is very grateful to Young Master, and at the same time, she also likes Young Master.”
“These two feelings do not conflict.”
“So Meng’er does not understand why Young Master should feel guilty.”
“This clearly is not Young Master’s fault.”
Zi Menghan did not understand what blow He Qiu had suffered that made him so heavy-hearted the moment he returned.
But she still wanted to help He Qiu cheer up.
Of course, half of what she said was true and half was false.
Zi Menghan was merely borrowing the identity of “Meng’er the maid” to express her own genuine feelings.
She really did like He Qiu quite a bit.
She had not lied about that.
It was truly a feeling toward the opposite sex.
With anyone else, she would not feel this way.
Although her feelings had only recently begun to grow stronger, Zi Menghan felt that this was what “liking” meant.
She wanted to continue experiencing this kind of “Young Master and maid” life.
She liked the way things were now.
“Mm, what you said is right too.”
He Qiu savored Zi Menghan’s guidance, nodded, and suddenly no longer felt that he had especially wronged his Senior Sister Luo Qianning.
In fact, he really had saved Luo Qianning back then.
He had only been worried about everyone in the village.
He was not wrong either.
Tsk, if you put it that way, then it was indeed so.
You cannot blame me.
If you must blame someone, blame Heaven for being unfair.
Reincarnating into another world, I am already here, so why could I not just be like the protagonists of power fantasy stories and be directly given a system, innate divine strength, or casually awaken a Golden Finger?
If that were the case, then ten years ago, he definitely could have casually saved that little girl being hunted down.
How could there be so many complicated feelings now?
If that were the case, would Luo Qianning also be like Meng’er Guniang now?
After being saved by He Qiu, she would fall in love with him at first sight, give herself to him in gratitude, and willingly gift him the Jade Pendant?
Senior Sister is so silly.
It feels like if I just tricked her a little, she would believe me completely.
“Phew…”
Leaning back in his chair, He Qiu’s thoughts surged endlessly.
Finally, he let out a breath and decided not to think about those useless things anymore.
Sure enough, getting too close to women makes the heart restless…
This was a warning.
He needed to be careful.
You see, cultivation was still better.
As long as you were willing to work hard, you would become stronger.
It was simple and brutal, with effort and reward existing in a visible positive ratio.
“Meng’er, I have thought it through. Thank you for telling me so much.”
As he spoke, He Qiu picked up the bundle at his feet, preparing to return to his room to read.
Those were the books he had brought back from the All-Books Pavilion.
Tonight, he still had to continue studying cultivation techniques!
As for matters related to being made into a Spirit Wife through spirit communication, and matters concerning Senior Sister Luo Qianning…
He would think about them another day.
The logical relationships were too chaotic.
How could women be more important than cultivation?
Once he had cultivation and strength, once he became the protagonist of a dragon-proud heavens story, would not all matters be easily solved?
There was nothing that could not be solved with one sword strike.
If there was, then two strikes!
By then, even if Senior Sister asked him to take responsibility or something, He Qiu would just marry Luo Qianning.
It was a very simple principle.
“If Young Master wishes to rest, please take this pot of tea into your room and drink it slowly.”
Before He Qiu returned to his room, Zi Menghan still handed the teapot to him.
The girl’s small face was pink, happy because He Qiu had just thanked her.
From what she had said, it was obvious that she had been very helpful to Young Master He.
The latter seemed to have resolved some inner knot, reaffirmed his life goals, and was no longer lost.
This was good.
He Qiu had taken care of her for so long.
Zi Menghan occasionally wanted to help him too, even if it was only with a few simple words.
“Mm, thank you.”
Taking the teapot, He Qiu returned alone to his room to study.
…
Late at night, the All-Books Pavilion had not yet extinguished its lights.
By the windowsill on the second floor, the black-skirted fairy drank alone beneath the moon, enjoying the stars in the night sky.
If one looked carefully, one would notice a man in black standing in the shadows at the corner of the pavilion.
“Your Majesty.”
“Mm…”
Nangong Qiongxiao nodded slightly.
“What is it? Speak.”
“Reporting to Your Majesty, the Demon Sect has recently made new moves.”
“The location is Tianxin City at the foot of the Longyin Mountain Range…”
.
.
.
Everyone has probably gotten tired of seeing daily emotional developments by now, right?
Time to push the main storyline forward.